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CHistory
History · Fort Pierce

Fort Pierce dates to 1901, and 11 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #184 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Fort Pierce was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1910.

1901founded
11on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
28famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fort Pierce’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fort Pierce began

When was Fort Pierce founded?

1901

Fort Pierce dates its founding to 1901 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,333 in 19102020 census: 47,297125 years

How historic is Fort Pierce?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fort Pierce’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Pierce is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #184 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Pierce’s overall grade.
Founding era1901, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.4% of homes (±0.9) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register11 listings, 2.2 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 71%

Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fort Pierce’s 2.2 sits above most of its state (77% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 11 listings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1901.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Fort Pierce’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark11 places on the National Register, including Zora Neale Hurston House, a National Historic Landmark.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Fort Pierce, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersLarry Sanders, Ricou Browning and 26 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

11 historic places in Fort Pierce

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
11
National Historic Landmark
1
Zora Neale Hurston House
historic buildings protected
11
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Fort Pierce Site
Fort Pierce SiteSt. Lucie High SchoolCresthavenJules Frere HouseSt. Anastasia Catholic School, Old, built 1914Moores Creek BridgeArcade Building, built 1926Fort Pierce City Hall, OldSunrise TheatreFort Pierce Old Post OfficeZora Neale Hurston House, built 1957★
BuildingsSitesStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals3
Mediterranean Revival3
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals2
Mission Style1
Georgian Revival1
Neo-Classical Revival1
★ Landmark
Zora Neale Hurston HouseBuilt 1957
Fort Pierce SiteSite
St. Lucie High SchoolMission Style
CresthavenGeorgian Revival
Jules Frere HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
St. Anastasia Catholic School, OldEarly Christian Revival · Built 1914
Moores Creek BridgeSingle-span arch-deck bridge
Arcade BuildingLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals · Built 1926
All 11 listings
Fort Pierce City Hall, OldBuilding · listed 2001Sunrise TheatreBuilding · listed 2001Fort Pierce Old Post OfficeBuilding · listed 2002

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Indian River, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bennetts Mobile Home ParkCortez EstatesGlen Oaks Mobile Home ParkGlidden ParkTangelo Village Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Fort Capronlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fort Pierce
Pine GroveRiverview Memorial Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Famous people

28 famous people were born in Fort Pierce

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Larry SandersAmerican basketball player · b. 1988
Ricou BrowningAmerican film actor and director · b. 1930
Khalil MackAmerican football player · b. 1991
Daniel T. McCartyAmerican politician · b. 1912
Rick AnkielFormer baseball player from the United States · b. 1979
Charles JohnsonBaseball catcher from the United States · b. 1971
The story

How Fort Pierce came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fort Pierce.

Read it all →

The city was named after the Fort Pierce army post which was built nearby in 1838 during the Second Seminole War, and lasted until 1842. The military post had been named for Benjamin Kendrick Pierce, a career United States Army officer and the brother of President Franklin Pierce.

The first permanent settlement of the current city was during the 1860s. In 1901, the city was officially incorporated as a municipality. It was the largest city on Florida's Atlantic Coast between Daytona Beach and West Palm Beach until 1970, when it was surpassed by Melbourne.

ChaptersLincoln ParkThe Florida Highwaymen2024 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fort Pierce, 1850 to 1991

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Indian River post office opens
  3. 1868Post officeThe Indian River post office closes
  4. 1880In the archiveFort Pierce landing
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveFlorida East Coast Railway Company engine number 30
  7. 1901
    FoundingFort Pierce is established
  8. 1910In the archiveSt. Lucie County buildings
  9. 1912Born hereDaniel T. McCarty is born here
  10. 1914BuiltSt. Anastasia Catholic School, Old is built
  11. 1926BuiltArcade Building is built
  12. 1930Born hereRicou Browning is born here
  13. 1937In the archiveGrading citrus fruits in the packing plant at Fort Pierce, Florida, 8b28478
  14. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1957BuiltZora Neale Hurston House is built
  16. 1988Born hereLarry Sanders is born here
  17. 1991Born hereKhalil Mack is born here
  18. 1991LandmarkZora Neale Hurston House named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Fort Pierce, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s5 items
Fort Pierce landing1880Fort Pierce landingFlorida East Coast Railway Company engine number 301900Florida East Coast Railway Company engine number 30The dock1909The dockThe dock1909The dockFoot of Palmetto Ave1909Foot of Palmetto Ave
1910s–1930s6 items
St. Lucie County buildings1910St. Lucie County buildingsFort Pierce, Florida, from the water front1911Fort Pierce, Florida, from the water frontGrading citrus fruits in the packing plant at Fort Pierce, Florida, 8b284781937Grading citrus fruits in the packing plant at Fort Pi…Grading citrus fruits in the packing plant at Fort Pierce, Florida, 8b28478a1937Grading citrus fruits in the packing plant at Fort Pi…Loading oranges. Fort Pierce, Florida1937Loading oranges. Fort Pierce, FloridaA modern packinghouse. Fort Pierce, Florida1937A modern packinghouse. Fort Pierce, Florida
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Fort Pierce on the map, 1949 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fort Pierce. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Fort Pierce on the 1949 USGS mapFort Pierce on the 1970 USGS mapFort Pierce on the 1983 USGS map1949Fort Pierce sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fort Pierce.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Fort Pierce landing
Retake this viewFort Pierce landing, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fort Pierce’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Fort Pierce, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00019201940196019802000202047,297

Grew from 1,333 people in 1910 to 47,297 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fort Pierce’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Fort Pierce’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFort Pierce landing: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fort Pierce North1 historic placeC+Fort Pierce SouthIts storyDWhite City1 historic placeC+Indian River EstatesIts storyDSt. Lucie Village1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Fort Pierce’s history

What year was Fort Pierce founded?

In 1901, according to Wikidata. Fort Pierce’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1910 counted 1,333 people here.

How does Fort Pierce rank for history?

Fort Pierce is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #184 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Fort Pierce?

11 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Zora Neale Hurston House (a National Historic Landmark since 1991), 1 site, and 1 structure.

How old are the homes in Fort Pierce?

2% of Fort Pierce’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.